AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE MASSACHUSETTS MILITARY ENHANCED RELIEF INDIVIDUAL TAX (MERIT) PLAN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 557 and 591, the figure “$250” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:— $400.
SECTION 2. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 619, the figure “$75” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— $225.
SECTION 3. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 640 and in line 645, the figure “$425” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:— $750.
SECTION 4. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 661, the figure “$250” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— $575.
SECTION 5. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 681 and 686, the figure “$775” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:— $1,250.
SECTION 6. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 702, the figure “$600” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— $1,075.
SECTION 7. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 719 and 724, the figure “$950” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:— $1,500.
SECTION 8. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 740, the figure “$775” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— $1,325.
SECTION 9. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out clause Twenty-second D and inserting in place thereof the following clause:—
Twenty-second D, Real estate to the full amount of the taxable valuation of real property of the surviving spouses of soldiers and sailors and members of the National Guard whose death occurred as a proximate result of an injury sustained or disease contracted in a combat zone, or who are missing in action with a presumptive finding of death, as a result of combat as members of the armed forces of the United States, if the real estate is occupied by the surviving spouse as a domicile, and if the surviving spouse has been domiciled in the commonwealth for 5 consecutive years next before the date for filing for exemption under this clause or the soldier or sailor or member of the National Guard was domiciled in Massachusetts for at least 6 months before entering service.
This exemption shall be available until the time that the surviving spouse dies or remarries, but in no case shall the abatement amount exceed the sum of $2,500 in any fiscal year following the fifth fiscal year immediately following the death of the soldier or sailor or member of the National Guard.
No real estate shall be so exempt which has been conveyed to the surviving spouse to evade taxation. The amount of the exemption shall be borne by the commonwealth, and the state treasurer shall annually reimburse the city or town for the amount of the tax which otherwise would have been collected for this exemption.
SECTION 9A. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “sailors”, in line 759, the following words:- and their spouses.
SECTION 10. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 769 and 774, the figure “$600” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:— $1,000.
SECTION 11. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 789, the figure “$425” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— $825.
SECTION 12. Said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 5K the following section:-
Section 5L. Upon acceptance of this section by a municipality and notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, any taxes due under this chapter by a member of the Massachusetts National Guard or reservist or a dependent of a member of the Massachusetts National Guard or reservist shall be deferred while that member is on active service outside the commonwealth and for the next 180 days after that service. No interest or penalties shall be assessed for any period before the expiration of those 180 days.
SECTION 13. Section 1 of chapter 60A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 95 to 96, inclusive, and in lines 100 to 101, inclusive, the words “World War I, World War II, Korean or Vietnam veteran” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:— veteran, as defined in section 7 of chapter 4,.
SECTION 14. Said section 1 of said chapter 60A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “hands”, in line 99, the following words:— , or has been determined by the medical advisory board established under section 8C of chapter 90 to be permanently disabled.
SECTION 15. Section 6 of chapter 64H of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after the word “arm”, in line 309, the following words:— or by and for the use of a veteran who has been determined to be permanently disabled by the medical advisory board established under section 8C of chapter 90 and has been issued a disabled veteran number plate under section 2 of said chapter 90.
SECTION 16. This act shall be known as the Edward G. Connolly Massachusetts Military Enhanced Relief Individual Tax (MERIT) Plan.
SECTION 17. Section 9 shall take effect as of September 11, 2001, for those soldiers, sailors and members of the National Guard who died or who became missing in action with a presumptive finding of death on or after September 11, 2001.
Approved August 14, 2006.